Mexican judge arrested in Colombia over alleged Wedding-network bribe
Original reporting: El País México
What happened
El País México reports that Colombian authorities arrested judge Luis Benítez Alcántara and the United States is seeking his extradition. Prosecutors allege he accepted $2 million to release Andrew Clark, an alleged associate of Ryan Wedding. He faces nine U.S. charges, according to the report.
Reporting and context
Colombian authorities arrested Mexican judge Luis Benítez Alcántara on an accusation that he accepted a $2 million bribe to release an alleged associate of Ryan Wedding, El País México reported. The United States announced the arrest on Thursday and requested the judge’s extradition to California, according to the newspaper.
Benítez Alcántara, 49, was detained in Colombia on Sunday. The report says he faces nine U.S. charges, including acting as an accessory after the fact. That charge concerns alleged assistance to an offender after a crime.
The alleged payment concerned Andrew Clark, 36, whom U.S. authorities described as second in command of Wedding’s organization. According to the account of the accusation published by El País, Clark was arrested in Mexico in October 2024 on U.S. drug-trafficking, murder and attempted-murder charges.
Benítez Alcántara was then a district judge in Mexico City supervising the extradition proceedings requested by Washington in November 2024. Prosecutors allege that Clark negotiated a payment of about $2 million in exchange for his release, the newspaper reported.
The accusation says that on February 24, 2025, the day the judge allegedly received the full payment, he granted Clark bail and ordered his release. Clark was arrested again days later and transferred to the United States, where he continues to face criminal proceedings, according to El País.
The newspaper, citing a Justice Department statement, reports that Benítez Alcántara could face up to 15 years in prison on each charge if convicted. The bribery account remains an allegation in the U.S. prosecution.
El País places the case within the wider investigation into Wedding’s alleged drug-trafficking organization. It reports that more than 30 alleged associates have been arrested across an investigation extending to several countries. A Los Angeles judge recently postponed Wedding’s own trial until October 2027, the newspaper reported.